Born of Shadows

Full-House


The experiment lasted three days, and when the three young men sat in the booth of the local teahouse comparing notes, it was determined to be a success.
The two others had woken the next day to find themselves tired, but not very hungry and only a little pressed to use the restroom.
Jou told them about the time difference but they just couldn’t force themselves to do something that they didn’t feel a need to do. But, next time it would be different.
Jou was excited by the idea that others could come with him, and then he wouldn’t be as bored. He was still a little bored, but had brought with reading material and that had helped. He had tried to make books in the shadows but the pages were either empty or in a language he couldn’t read. So, they too, would have to be brought with.
He was finishing up a week of the boring kind of photography he hated. But, it paid the bills, and helped him to get the good jobs.
He was in a local park, capturing pictures of a statue that was recently renovated. He packed his camera equipment up, and noticed a shadow over his bag. Looking up saw a familiar face.
“Bakura? What are you doing here?” Jou asked. The Yami looked at him suspiciously. “Whatever it is, I didn’t do it?” Jou said, smiling.
“Yami has taught you something of shadows?” he asked.
“Um, well yeah. How’d you know?” Jou asked looking around.
“Marik told me. I am surprised. But if Pharaoh has taught you, it must be for a good reason, so I will only say that you have left me and my Hikari out of your game.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know that it was such a popular place. Why do you want to come?”
“If Marik has enjoyed his stay enough to tell me about it, why wouldn’t I?”
“Um what did he tell you?” Jou was really starting to worry now.
“Everything. However, he would not wish to stay that long in the future, unless you plan to supply better accommodations.”
“He stayed? And Malik, too?” Jou asked.
“No. He has the ability to leave on his own, but sensed that you stayed longer. Had you known, he is sure that you would have been more prepared. Perhaps we can help you.”
“How?”
“Once we have been invited to a shadow, we can visit at our leisure, providing we follow the rules of the realm. We could supply our own needs there. Have you made a decision?”
“On what?”
“Me and Ryou. We are a package deal. I understand we will have roles to play. You must choose our roles. I will make it easy for you. Malik showed me the room, and it is sufficient, but I do not care to be a rat. I am far softer than Marik. Perhaps something more domestic.”
“Yeah, thanks Bakura. I’ll give it some thought. I was going to check up on something tonight, how’s that sound?”
“Very nice, thank you.” And the Yami was soon walking away.


Rat would have to be punished for this. Master was sure of it. So, now to make sure his pets understood that if they wished to play in his house, they would have to learn discipline. He sat in the room and surveyed. There in a corner was a good place. He concentrated and soon it was closing around itself. He sealed it and opened the door. Placing a bowl of fruit and nuts into the side, and a large bottle of water next to it. Then he closed the door and latched it tightly.
He concentrated, and the small space was filled with a familiar presence. Rat lay on the soft flooring looking through the bars. Master smiled at the confusion on his face. Master turned to the other side of the room and concentrated on the bedding, bringing Mouse into the house once more. Mouse climbed out and crossed to where Rat lay caged.
“Squeak.” Mouse protested. Master shook his head and pointed to the bedding once more.
Master concentrated once more. Soon the bedding shifted and a head popped out quickly, looked around and popped back in. Then the head came up again. Master smiled and Mouse looked on interestedly. The fur of this pet was gentle sandy color and it was smoothly down around his head. His gloves, booties and loincloth were colored to match and his tail was bushy at the end. His movements were swift and jerky.
Gerbil rose out of the bedding and crawled over to where Mouse sat. The two sniffed each other and turned to Master.
“I was getting to it. You know this is harder than it looks?”
Soon, another head rose out of the bedding. This time, the fur, though similar in color, stood out more and was almost fluffy. All other clothing was the same as Gerbil, except for the tail, which was stumpy and short.
Hamster crawled slowly out of the bedding and over to the other two. Gerbil looked up at Master and Master smiled at him.
“Mouse will show you around. I am afraid that today, Rat cannot play. I had to punish him for sharing my secret. I will trust that you, Gerbil and Hamster can keep my secret better, though there are very few left to tell.”
The three looked over where Rat lay, before running over the various pieces of equipment. The wheel was again a center of attention, and soon all three were worn out from the exertion. Play was commenced and then some soft cuddling together in the bedding.
Master placed the bottled water and a large bowl of food in the center of the room. He would not let them suffer, and when he left he turned to the cage.
“If you are still here when I come in the morning. I will let you out.” And he exited the room.
His wagonload of supplies was where he had left it, and he went to put away his goods.
As he untied the load, he stacked the food items on the counter and sorted them by cupboards. The last time he had run out of the treats he had brought for Puppy very early so he had brought more for this trip, whereas he had plenty of the Pocky that Monkey liked, and as he put the boxes on the counter he added up how many he would give per day.
Reaching up to one of his cabinets, he pulled the door open and found a surprise. There on the shelf there were three boxes of Pocky from the previous visit.
It had remained. He could store goods from one trip to the next. If he made enough trips here, he could possibly stock the house for an indefinite stay.
Master was thrilled.


::: Closed up the hole. Did you find it?:::